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hardly
adverb
almost
not
or
only
just
•
It
was
so
dark
that
I
could
hardly
see
the
road
ahead
of
me
.
It
was
so
dark
that
I
could
hardly
see
the
road
ahead
of
me
.
•
She
was
so
nervous
during
the
presentation
that
she
could
hardly
speak
.
She
was
so
nervous
during
the
presentation
that
she
could
hardly
speak
.
From
Middle
English
"
hardly
"
meaning
"
with
difficulty
,"
formed
from
hard
+
-ly
.
adverb
used
to
emphasize
that
something
is
unreasonable
,
unlikely
,
or
certainly
not
the
case
•
You
can
hardly
expect
them
to
finish
the
entire
project
in
one
day
.
You
can
hardly
expect
them
to
finish
the
entire
project
in
one
day
.
•
She
had
just
arrived
,
so
we
could
hardly
blame
her
for
being
late
.
She
had
just
arrived
,
so
we
could
hardly
blame
her
for
being
late
.
Developed
as
an
emphatic
adverbial
use
of
sense
‘
almost
not
’
in
Early
Modern
English
.
adverb
(
archaic
)
harshly
or
severely
•
The
old
captain
spoke
hardly
to
the
disobedient
sailor
.
The
old
captain
spoke
hardly
to
the
disobedient
sailor
.
•
Peasants
were
treated
hardly
in
those
cruel
times
.
Peasants
were
treated
hardly
in
those
cruel
times
.
Sense
influenced
by
earlier
meaning
‘
with
difficulty
’
and
Old
English
hardlīċe
‘
sternly
’.